


wholesome lesbians

by raysinbran



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Lesbians, Wholesomeness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22155112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raysinbran/pseuds/raysinbran
Summary: this was supposed to be a joke fic with lesbians. thats what it was supposed to be."Dumb bitch runs into intimidating lesbian and things ensue" -my friend
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Kudos: 7





	wholesome lesbians

**Author's Note:**

> this came about because of a discussion of me and a friend   
> phara belongs to me and merle belongs to said friend  
> i couldnt think of a good title  
> that is all

Phara wasn’t having a good day. 

First, she had gotten lost in this stupid forest somehow, trying to get to a town on the other side of it. She didn’t even know  _ how _ it happened, she just had gotten turned around at some point and now she doesn’t know what direction she’s going in. It’s been at least two days and while Phara managed to drink a bit of water from a creek she had been following for the past few hours, she was  _ so fucking hungry _ . Maybe she should have listened to her brother when he was telling her about which plants were and were not poisonous. 

Phara paused in her steps, swaying slightly. This forest was way too big. Wasn’t it smaller than this? She frowned a little - it didn’t matter too much, she guessed. She just had to get out of here and find some actual civilization. 

“Fuckin’ hell,” she muttered to herself, hopping over a medium-sized rock. “I can’t fucking believe I’m lost, this is ridiculous.” 

She kicked lightly at the ground, scowling. This really  _ was  _ ridiculous, at this point Phara was wishing for any sort of sign of people to show up, and-

Oh. There’s a cabin. That’s strange. Welcome, but strange. Phara started off to it, deciding even if there was a murderer living in it, she’d rather get murdered than have to be stuck in the woods for one more day. But, the tiefling woman paused upon coming to the door - was it really worth it to see what hermit lived in here? Eh, it doesn’t matter. Phara pushed the door open and stuck her head in. 

“Hello, does anyone live here?” She called out, reluctant to actually  _ go in _ . It wasn’t her house, why the hell would she go in? 

She waited a few minutes but- no answer. Okay. Phara can work with that. From what she could see around the cabin, she could gather that someone has been around recently - it definitely wasn’t abandoned. Phara gently shut the door and stepped away, studying the rest of her surroundings. It wasn’t much, really. Just the cabin, a nicely-taken-care-of vegetable garden, and what looked like a chopping block with an axe wedged in it; all within a small forest clearing. Was there dried blood on that axe? Phara paused for a moment, thinking that over - well, who cares, who is she to judge. 

Phara began pacing in the small clearing, biting on her lip. She waited decisively for what seemed like forever (it was really just half an hour, maybe) for whoever lived here to come back. Finally, she heard lumbering footsteps behind her and she whipped around, clasping her hands together and plastering a grin on her face. To seem friendly. More or less. She probably looked more predatory than anything. 

But Phara’s grin instantly dropped the moment she saw the cabin’s apparent resident. A  _ very _ tall,  _ very _ muscular human woman carrying a few logs with an axe strapped to her belt. The woman had a brooding expression with narrowed eyes, which only seemed angrier the second the two made eye contact. Phara made a light wheezing sound, trying to compose herself into someone less visibly intimidated. Her heart was pounding. 

“Hey,” she spoke, swaying on the balls of her feet. 

The woman said nothing, just frowned down at Phara. 

“I’m not like… here to be a threat?” Phara said, uncertainly. This was so out of character for her. Maybe the creek water was bad. “I just got lost, dear, and I’d appreciate it if you’d help me out.”

The woman eyed her warily. “You got lost?” she asked. Her voice sounded rough, like she didn’t talk too much to other people. 

“Yes!” Phara nodded. Okay, she didn’t feel so nervous anymore. “I promise. And I’m Phara, by the way.”

The woman nodded back, walking past Phara now. “I’m Merle.”

Phara stood there for a few moments in hesitation - she’s still sort of intimidated, not that she’d ever say it - but quickly hurried after the newly named Merle. 

“So, will you help me get out of here then?”

Merle sets the logs down by the chopping block, shrugging. “I guess. In a few days.”

“A few days?” Phara asked, incredulous. “I’ve already  _ been _ in here a few days, I’m ready to get out!”

Merle flashed a glare at her, effectively shutting up the tiefling woman. “I said a few days. I’m busy.”

Phara made a face, scowling at Merle. “Then can you give me food or something ‘til then? I haven’t eaten in two, three days.”  
“I guess so,” Merle shrugged again. “I don’t care if you hang around for these few days, so long as you aren’t any threat to my life here, not like you have anywhere else to go, huh?”

“Uh, no. Not really.”

“Then come on. I’ll give you somethin’.”

Once in the cabin, Merle scrounged up some leftovers she apparently had from a previous meal. Just some meat, a few vegetables. Phara very, very quickly ate up that meal, probably being a little too messy. She had an excuse, okay. She flashed a grin at Merle, putting her utensils very neatly back onto the plate.   
“Thank you, darling, I liked the meal,” she said, tone friendly and _probably_ a little flirty. 

Merle blinked, seeming to choose not to comment on Phara’s tone. “You’re welcome. I can lead you out of here in a few days but until then you can sleep on a mat I have.”

“That’s fine,” Phara nodded amicably. “I’ve slept in worse places.”  
“So have I,” Merle replied absently, taking Phara’s plate and putting it in what looked like a bin for dirty dishes.

“What’s been the worst for you?” Phara asked, leaning forward in her chair.   
The woman paused, before turning to face the other. “I had to sleep outside while it was snowing without any sort of blankets or anything.”

Phara whistled. “Rough. I’ve slept _kind of_ like that, it was just raining, not snowing. And I’ve had to sleep in a room with a dozen or more dirty men on a ship, more than once.”  
Merle raised her eyebrows, just a bit. “A ship?” She asked, sounding curious. 

“Yeah, I was a pirate.” Phara shrugged. “I left that life, technically, a while ago, but I still have a reputation, ‘specially in port towns.”

Merle hummed a bit. “I don’t really have any sort of reputation … anywhere.”  
“No, you don’t seem like someone who goes into town much, considering..”

“I live in the middle of nowhere?”

“I mean, yeah, kinda? I respect it, but I’m more of a socialite generally. I play music and entertain.”  
“You play music?” Merle looked a little interested in that little fact. 

Phara grinned, tugging her bag off her back and pulling out her mandolin. “Yeah, see? It’s how I make money, uh, when it’s legal.”  
“Sure.”

“You have any requests for me to play?” Phara teased, her tone lowering a small bit. 

Merle hesitated, arms crossed. She had just a little bit of a blush, Phara noticed. “No. Not really. It’d be nice to hear music, though.”

“Well, get ready to hear the good shit.” Phara smirked, now, shifting so she was holding the mandolin properly and strummed a few test notes. She paused, picking out a song in her head - she wanted to show off, of course. Almost hesitantly, she started the song she picked out and winces at the slightly off-key notes. She really should tune this later; Merle, however, didn’t seem to notice. Phara took a deep breath, mid-strum, and began singing now - her voice was high and pleasant, a very melodic sound. Though she sounded a bit too breathy at the moment - ah, she hasn’t sung in a few days, she can give herself slack. Just a little bit. 

But when she was finished, cutting herself off and looking over to Merle - the other woman’s expression was all awe. Merle was leaning back on a table, smiling at Phara (so  _ sweetly _ , too). 

“That was good,” she spoke, smiling pleasingly. 

Phara let herself smile back, more genuinely this time around. “Thanks. I’d say I make a nice living off my music for a good reason.”

Merle snorted, straightening herself. “Ah. Humble of you, to say.”  
“I have the opposite of hubris,” Phara said sarcastically, smirking now.

“Sure,” Merle said agreeably, inclining her head. “I’m going to head outside for a bit now.”  
“What for?”

“It’s getting cold outside. We need firewood.” She gestured towards the fireplace. 

  
  


The next few days went by pretty peacefully, to be honest. 

Phara was left to her own devices most of them - which was fair, Merle didn’t seem to be too much of a talker generally. When the two of them  _ did _ talk they had lovely conversations, though. And to add to it, Phara had never been so relaxed in literal years. She’s always been so on edge all the time, especially in areas where she has a bounty on her head, yet, here? In Merle’s homey cabin, in the middle of the woods? She can calm down, for once. 

But that’s why she sort of wants to stay. 

She  _ knows _ she shouldn’t, she knows that Merle will probably be glad to see her gone. That’s why she won’t mention a word of this to the other woman, despite this place being so soothing. 

Right now, Phara was busy re-tuning her mandolin again. She had already done it yesterday but everytime she played it, it still didn’t sound right. Maybe because of the humidity? She wasn’t exactly sure. She definitely could  _ feel _ some humidity, but definitely not nearly as much as on the coast, and her instruments didn’t usually have problems when she was around there. 

She frowned to herself, movements slowing. She’s just distracted and it’s fucking her up. 

She really, really doesn’t want to leave. Phara wants to stick around, at least for a little while longer. Just to relax a little more. To get to know Merle a little more. 

“What are you doing?” Speak of the devil. 

Phara jolts out of her seat, nearly falling. “Just tuning my mandolin,” she said, a little hurriedly. 

Merle eyed the tiefling woman, but didn't say a word about startling her. “Was it not tuned before?”

“Uh, no,” Phara snorted. “It’s been horribly off-key.”

“Oh. I couldn’t tell.”

“I know, darling.” 

Merle pauses at the endearment, a blush spreading over her face.  _ Cute _ . She coughs, looking away. “Uh. Uh, yeah. I’m gonna make some lunch for us.”

“What’ll it be?” Phara set her instrument off to the side, shifting in her seat. 

“I have some boar that I figured I should cook soon.” Merle lifted a shoulder in a sort of half-shrug, turning away to the kitchen area. 

“... Boar?”

“Yeah, one tried to attack me the other day, it just kind of showed up.” The tall woman glanced back, lips twisted down into a scowl. “It tried to destroy my farm.”

Once again, Phara is  _ intimately _ reminded of how strong Merle is. She studied how muscular the other was with very parYticular interest, and decided to ignore how that made her feel. She swallowed back any reply in regards to Merle’s strength, leaning forward on the table in front of her. 

“I’ve never really seen a boar in real life,” she remarked. “I don’t often venture out into forests.. Or anywhere they’d be. I hear they’re pretty hard to kill, though.”

“It’s not too much of a problem for me,” Merle said, flashing a quick smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Merle dipped out of the room, leaving Phara to wonder: why the hell did she feel so  _ weird _ when she was around this woman?

  
  


It was time to leave. 

Phara’s heart was beating hard in her chest as Merle began to lead her out of the forest. It would be a couple of hours before they got into town, so she had until then to calm herself down. The two of them chatted as they walked but Phara barely even knew what the topic was. She was coming in and out of her thoughts every minute, even if she tried to pay attention to what Merle told her. 

She was looking ahead of her, lost in her head again, when Merle suddenly grabbed her arm, yanking her backwards to rest against the tall woman’s chest. Phara blinked, startled, and looked up at Merle, her hands beginning to shake. 

Merle just had a grim expression, still holding her. “You weren’t listening to me.”

“Uh,” Phara said, intelligently. Despite all the charisma that she usually had, her brain stopped working at that very moment. 

“You were going to walk straight off the cliff and land in the creek,” Merle said stiffly, staring intensely. “I said to go a different way, because of the cliff. You didn’t listen to me.”

“I… did not, yes,” Phara responded, her voice strained. Merle’s hands were hot on her skin.  _ Very _ hot. “I have a problem with spacing out, uh. At times. It’s not… anything against  _ you _ or anything.”

“You haven’t been spacing out around me this past week.” Merle finally released her. 

Phara turned around, swaying on her feet. “I have more things to think about today.”

“Do you.”

Phara swallowed back a lump in her throat. Fuck, Merle was intimidating. The muscular woman practically towered over her, glowering heatedly. 

“Yeah,” she managed; she shouldn’t be feeling this alarmed by Merle, “I do.”

“Why?” Merle asked, now, a curious glint in her eyes. 

“Just, some stuff on the mind now that I’ll be back in a town,” Phara said, trying to maintain eye contact. It wasn’t easy. 

Merle didn’t reply at first, just observed the smaller tiefling woman for a few minutes. She seemed to make a decision afterwards, nodding to herself and turning away, beginning to walk down a beaten path. Phara stood there, in confusion, but quickly took the hint and rushed after the taller woman. 

It was a long time spent in silence before they reached the town. A comfortable one, thankfully, Phara was afraid that the tension would be palpable, but… it was like it just melted away like snow. Maybe a little awkward at first, when Phara took her spot walking next to Merle, but then it was okay. 

But now, it isn’t. 

They were at the edge of the trees, the start of a small merchant town just beyond a few small hills. Merle was eyeing the few buildings they could see distrustfully, while Phara was grateful just to be out somewhere other than the forest. She prefered open spaces, like these plains the town sat upon. Merle glanced at Phara, making a ‘go on’ motion with her hands. 

“Aren’t you going to go?” she asked, returning her gaze to the town. 

“Yeah, just-” Phara sighed, a hand wringing itself in her skirt. “Listen.”

Merle turned fully towards her, head tilted. “What?”

Phara looks up at Merle, craning her head to make eye contact with this  _ unbelievably _ tall woman. “I don’t want to go and just never see you again.”

Merle seemed rather shocked at the sudden admission, her eyes wide and not saying a word. Her mouth opened and closed several times, not unlike a fish, as she stared at the tiefling woman. Phara swayed on her feet, waiting for a reply, managing to maintain eye contact for the most part. 

“I… uh,” Merle spoke, seeming to be grasping at straws, “you could… visit?”

The human woman sounded so dorky and confused that Phara  _ immediately _ started cracking up laughing. 

“I just mean!” Merle quickly said, backtracking. “That! Maybe, just come around every so often for y’know, a  _ visit _ ! So we can keep in touch, or whatever you wanted!”

Phara snickered, smirking. “I wasn’t particularly meaning visits, but sure.”

Merle pursed her lips, frowning just a little. “Then… what did you mean?”

“I’m meaning I stick around for a bit.” Phara sighed, now, looking away. “The past week has been the first time I’ve relaxed in a very long time. You’re part of why.”

Merle stayed silent that time, staring incredulously. 

“I am  _ not _ good with any sort of, feelings bullshit,” Phara said, biting the inside of her cheek. “But I’m tired of being on edge all the time. I want to stick with you a little longer.”

Merle kept looking at Phara and then away, seeming almost nervous. Her leg was doing a…  _ thing _ , just sort of vibrating in place. Some sort of nervous tick. 

“I think I know what you’re saying,” she replied finally, speaking slowly. 

Phara raised her eyebrows, prompting the other to go on. 

Merle took a deep breath. “I’d like you to stick around too, for a little while.”

The tiefling woman smiled, her lavender eyes crinkling with delight. For the first time in a long, long while, Phara feels genuinely happy. Like maybe she could calm down, take a deep breath, and be okay. 

“Well, would you like to get lunch first?”


End file.
